My Angel
by ilovecastiel18
Summary: Crowley walks into the bookshop to find Gabriel actively insulting Aziraphale, and decides enough is enough. He comforts Aziraphale after Gabriel leaves. Also, Crowley and Aziraphale have a discussion about how "angel" is a human term of endearment. Hurt/Comfort, angst, fluff, romance at the end. Language warning. One-Shot.


**Disclaimer: **Good Omens, along with its characters, locations, etc. are the property of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet. If I owned the rights to it, I wouldn't still be desperate to meet the man that I absolutely ADORE: David Tennant.

**Summary: **Crowley walks into the bookshop to find Gabriel actively insulting Aziraphale, and decides enough is enough. He comforts Aziraphale after Gabriel leaves. Also, Crowley and Aziraphale have a discussion about how "angel" is a human term of endearment. Hurt/Comfort, angst, fluff, romance at the end. Language warning. One-Shot.

**A/N: **I don't even know, guys. I'm back at school so I really don't have much time for writing (not as much as I had over the summer), so I will definitely not be posting as much as usual. But, I got into a bit of a GO fanfiction fix over Labor Day weekend and decided that I absolutely had to write another story before my plate becomes to full. But I digress. Enjoy!

….

My Angel

….

Crowley was having a bad day. Of course, he usually had bad days (unless he spent them with Aziraphale), so that wasn't much of a change, but he was still grumpy and irritated as he screeched to a stop in front of the bookshop.

The truth of the matter was that Crowley had been having a hard time since the whole Apocalypse-that-wasn't, which happened, or didn't happen, about two years ago. He had been struggling to enjoy his time on Earth now that he no longer had assignments from Hell. He had always hated that place, hated the disgusting demons and the cramped and dirty hallways and the flies and creatures that swarmed all the empty space. He had hated taking orders, hated causing anything more than light mischief for his own amusement. He had hated every second of his employment with Hell. But now…

Crowley felt lost, like he no longer had a purpose. He was still spending time with Aziraphale, still tormenting his plants, still causing small problems here and there so he could watch the humans become flustered. But without having assignments and duties that he definitely didn't want to do, Crowley felt like a part of his life was missing. He hadn't been able to remedy this issue since the Apocalypse that he and Aziraphale had stopped.

On this particular day, he had hit a duck while speeding past St. James' Park (he liked ducks, he had been seriously put out when he had hit it); he had caused a person to slip in a puddle, which, in a series of domino effects, had caused a car wreck with fatalities (which was most definitely not his intention, he never tries to cause serious harm to anyone); he had ben forced to throw out three plants because they had grown brown spots (they were less scared of him now, they knew he was sad); and, to top it all off, he hadn't seen Aziraphale in two weeks, which was _far _too long, in his opinion.

Needless to say, he was angry, and frustrated, and upset, and he just wanted to spend time with his best friend. He put the Bentley in park and strolled up to the bookshop, snapping his fingers to unlock the door and strolling inside like he owned the place.

What he saw stopped him dead in his tracks.

Gabriel, of all beings, was standing in the middle of the bookshop shouting abuses at Aziraphale, who was hunched over in his desk chair, seemingly trying to appear as small as possible.

"And that's why you will never be an agent of Heaven again, because you got fat and went soft and stopped caring about what angels are meant to care about! You're friends with a demon, you own a bookshop, you eat human food… you're _pathetic, _Aziraphale, and…"

"What the _fuck _do you want?" Crowley yelled as soon as he saw Gabriel. He willed his boiling anger and hatred to simmer down so he didn't attack an Archangel.

"Excuse me?" Gabriel whipped around to glare at Crowley. "Aziraphale was my employee…"

"Yeah, he _was. _That's the key word. Aziraphale does not work for you anymore, and he never will again." Crowley pushed out through gritted teeth. "How dare you say such things to Aziraphale? He's the best angel out of the whole lot of you!" he yelled.

"I am the Archangel Gabriel, I can speak to whomever I want however I want, and you, vile demon, have no way to stop me." Gabriel retorted, glaring at Crowley.

"I have plenty of ways to stop you, you fucking asshole. I suggest you get the fuck out of this shop before we both do something we regret. Be sure to let the door hit you on the way out." Crowley turned and walked toward Aziraphale, hoping he could offer some sort of comfort to his obviously hurting friend.

"Demon, how dare you speak to an Archangel in this manner?" Gabriel boomed, puffing out his chest.

"Save the badass act for someone who cares. Just get out and don't come back." Crowley snapped, letting Hellfire flicker across his fingers as he glared at Gabriel.

He refused to look away until Gabriel gave up and walked out of the bookshop, letting the door slam behind him.

"Angel, are you alright?" Crowley turned toward his friend, forcing the Hellfire on his fingers to recede so he could lightly grasp Aziraphale's shoulder. "Aziraphale?" he asked quietly when he didn't answer. He crouched down in front of the angel's seat and saw tears in his eyes.

Crowley sighed, reaching up and cupping Aziraphale's face lightly. He brushed a few stray tears away with his thumb, gently turning the angel's face so he couldn't avoid eye contact. "Don't listen to him, angel, he doesn't understand." Crowley whispered.

"I think he understands more than you or I could possibly hope to comprehend." Aziraphale choked out. Crowley felt his heart break at this, felt tears burning behind his eyes. He forced them away.

"I don't think he does." Crowley counteracted, with a light shake of his head. He removed his sunglasses and placed them on Aziraphale's desk. "He doesn't understand how special you are."

Aziraphale scoffed. "Different doesn't always mean special, Crowley." He muttered.

"You're right. But, in your case, it does. You're a better angel than Gabriel could ever hope to be, Aziraphale." Crowley whispered. He reached up and took both of Aziraphale's hands into his own. "Whatever he said, he was wrong."

"I don't think he was." Aziraphale argued.

"What did he say?" Crowley asked quietly.

"He said I was fat, and soft, and pathetic. That I have gone native on Earth and no longer belong in Heaven. He said I could never be a true angel, and that I will never again be a part of Heaven. I'm just a pathetic loser with only one friend who will never fit in with his family again." Aziraphale choked out.

"Okay, first of all, you're not fat. You have fat, but that's not a bad thing. Why does it matter if you have a little extra weight? That doesn't make you any less of an angel. Second…"

"You don't have an ounce of fat on your body, Crowley, how can you say those things?" Aziraphale interrupted.

"This is just the body that I was assigned. I don't eat much, so it mostly stays this way." Crowley paused, squeezed the hands trapped in his own. "I think you're perfect Aziraphale, no matter what you or Gabriel or anyone else says. You wouldn't be you if you didn't look this way. You are beautiful just as you are." Crowley paused again. "The same thing goes for Gabriel calling you soft. You are soft, but that isn't a bad thing. You care about humanity, which is something that no other angel can say. Caring, no matter how much it hurts or how much it goes against everything you believe in, is a _good _thing. Who knows where I would be if I hadn't befriended you? I could be so much worse than I am, or I could be dead in a ditch somewhere because I gave up living. And the world would have ended. If you weren't soft, the Earth would no longer exist." More tears dripped from Aziraphale's eyes, so Crowley reached up and gently wiped them away.

"Thirdly, you are _not _pathetic. You are such an amazing being that I can't even stay away for two weeks without missing you with every bit of my soul. You care about people, and you care about books and food and animals and everything else – but when it came down to it, you were a warrior. You helped save the _world, _angel. I think that makes you far from pathetic.

"You are more of an angel than any of the others, and if that means that you no longer belong in Heaven, is that really a bad thing? You're so much more than them, Aziraphale. So much more." Crowley paused. "I do know why you're upset though. I always hated Hell, but now that I'm separated from there, I feel… weird. I always felt like Hell was my defecto family, because I was a demon. But we never fit in with out realms anyway, angel. We were always more than out peers. And now we're free to exercise that difference however we wish to exercise it. I feel like you and I are more of a family than Heaven and Hell ever have the possibility of becoming. This bookshop is more of a home to me than Hell, and you mean more to me than anyone else ever could. How important are Heaven and Hell when we have each other?" Crowley finished quietly.

Aziraphale sniffed before cautiously leaning forward and wrapping his arms around Crowley's shoulders.

Crowley, on his part, let his eyes slip shut, pulling Aziraphale off the chair and into his arms. He had wanted to hug his angel for _so long, _he had to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. Crowley nuzzled his nose into the crook of Aziraphale's neck and breathed deeply, tightening his grip on his friend and holding on as if Aziraphale was a life-preserver and he was drowning.

"Thank you, Crowley." Aziraphale whispered in his ear. Crowley tightened his grip even more, pressing Aziraphale into his chest and refusing to let go. He felt all of his anger, all of his heartbreak, that had been building up for the last two years melting away as he held onto his friend, feeling tears come to his eyes and drip onto Aziraphale's neck. "Dear, are you alright?" Aziraphale asked quietly, clearly noticing the tears moistening his neck.

"M'fine, just… stay." Crowley muttered; his face still buried against where Aziraphale's neck met his shoulder.

Aziraphale complied, holding Crowley against him as he cried. He carded the fingers of one hand through the demon's hair, while his other hand was rubbing circles into Crowley's back and shoulders.

When Crowley had calmed down, Aziraphale pulled back just enough to look into Crowley's eyes and wipe away some of his tears. "What's wrong, my dear?"

"Just… everything. I've been struggling for the las couple years, I don't know why. Thank you." Crowley looked away, embarrassed.

"There's no need to be embarrassed, Crowley. Crying isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. I'm glad you trust me enough to cry in front of me, let alone in my arms." Aziraphale paused, running a hand down Crowley's arm and grasping his hand. "I care about you so much, dear. I hope you know that."

"I do, angel." Crowley replied, leaning forward and pressing their foreheads together. "Do you know why 'angel' is considered a human pet name? Why humans call their significant others 'angel?'" Crowley asked, his eyes closed.

"I'm afraid I don't."

"I started it. Someone heard me call you 'angel,' and because this person heard so much love and devotion in my voice, they started calling their spouse 'angel.' It caught on. So, 'angel' is a human pet name because of how much I love you. I know you care about me because I care about you, I know what it looks like." Crowley explained.

"'Angel' is a human pet name because you love me?" Aziraphale asked quietly.

"Yes it is." Crowley replied. "I don't expect you to love me as more than a friend, angel, but I hope you know that you are everything to me. Everything. Don't ever listen to Gabriel, because he doesn't know you or care about you like I do. And, honestly, the only opinion you should care about is your own. I just hope you learn to look at yourself the way I look at you. You are the embodiment of beauty and grace and divinity. Those other angels could never measure up to how wonderful you are, Aziraphale."

Suddenly, before Crowley's brain caught up with his body, Aziraphale was kissing him, and Crowley was having difficulty comprehending the rapid turn of events. He hadn't even gotten used to the feeling before Aziraphale pulled away, looking embarrassed.

Before he could say anything, Crowley leaned forward and kissed the angel again, lingering until he felt all the tension melt from Aziraphale's body.

"I love you, angel. _My _angel. Always." Crowley muttered, forcing his throat to work despite wanting to lean forward and kiss Aziraphale again, until the end of time.

"I love you too, dear. I will for the rest of eternity." Aziraphale leaned forward and kissed Crowley again, making the demon forget everything that had been bothering him for the last two years.

The hole in his heart just needed an angel to fill it.


End file.
